Naruto: The Chronicles of Hajime Hayabusa
by Mhex
Summary: Meet Hajime Hayabusa, a young orphan wandering the streets of Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand, as he rises from the ashes of his life as a notorious thief and gang member to become one of Suna's finest shinobi.
1. Chapter 1: Feathery Companion

**The Chronicles of Hajime Hayabusa**

_"Feathery Companion"_

The wind began to pick up, but it brought no relief from the scorching sun as it hanged high in the sky. Instead, it filled the young boy's nostrils with the burning sensation of dry air, grating dust, and sand that was all-too-common to the barren alleyways and streets of Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand. The boy lifted the pitiful remnants of a worn cloth robe to shield his face as he wandered aimlessly. He hadn't eaten anything for days, and the sandstorms that howled from the nearby desert made everyone take shelter in their homes. No one was outside that didn't need to be, shops were closed and boarded up, the streets looked deserted.

With no home and no family, the boy was left to wither out the storm. Seeking shelter in a nearby abandoned warehouse, the boy was disappointed to discover that years of neglect had left the building a rusted shell. Long jagged scars in the roof and walls had been cut out by the sandy winds that pervaded the climate here, and worse yet large holes had been blasted out. No doubt by overeager students from the Ninja Academy. They came here often to show off their skills to friends and rivals alike with no regard for the damage they caused to a perfectly sound building. What a waste, the young boy thought to himself as he huddled behind a bent piece of steel roofing that hung from the nearby corner.

Pulling the metal shard closer to shield himself from the wind, the boy quietly settled in to wait out the storm. Tired and hungry, the boy's eyes grew heavier by the moment until at last he could no longer keep himself awake, and so he quietly dozed off…

- - - - - - - - - -

The storm had passed, the sun had begun its descent over the horizon and the temperature had fallen with it. The desert cold awoke the young boy with a start as he realized he had begun shivering. Tucking his legs closer to his body, he tried to warm himself by rubbing his hands against his legs. The heat created by the friction brought some relief.

The shivering abated enough for him to push away the dangling shard of metal roofing that shielded him earlier and stand up. Stretching to ease the tension out of his muscles, the boy was startled by a sudden bang and three pairs of footsteps approaching from the other end of the building.

Hiding himself behind the dangling metal shard, he watched as three other boys stepped inside through a hole in the wall. He recognized them, all were students from the Ninja Academy. The leader of the pack was a large boy with an equally large nose and beady eyes. The second had black hair that hung below his shoulders and covered the left side of his face while the third was plump with a shaved head and slitted eyes.

The boy watched the trio enter and head for the center of the warehouse. He noticed the plump one was carrying something that looked like a large bird's nest. He couldn't see what was inside, but he could hear the terrified squawks of a young chick. An evil grin stretched across big nose and long-haired' face as the plump one set the nest down.

The boy spotted something else. Long-haired was carrying a large black pouch that jerked violently in his grasp with something large and very angry inside. The boy had a sinking feeling…

- - - - - - - - - -

The boy squinted his eyes to focus on the black bag in long-haired's hands. The bag continued to writhe and wriggle as whatever was inside struggled for freedom. No matter how much it tried, it couldn't fight free of his grasp.

Big nose led the trio to a spot in the center of the abandoned warehouse, scanned his surroundings briefly, and looked towards long-haired. "This looks like a good spot. What do think Ryu?"

An evil snicker echoed throughout the building as Ryu loosened the bag. "Yeah, this'll be perfect Kenta."

With the bag loose, the head of a bird popped out of the bag. It had a black head with a sharp-looking yellow beak and yellow bands around the large brown eyes. It was a mother peregrine falcon, and inside the nest being carried by the plump one was its chick calling out for her.

The plump one seemed to quiver at the malevolent snickering coming from his two companions. He pulled the nest closer to his round belly and tightened his grip, almost as if to protect it. "I don't know about this guys," the plump one said timidly. "It… it seems wrong somehow…"

Kenta's rage flared up at his friend's soft-heartedness as he barked, "I told you before Jiro, if you want to practice throwing kunai, you need to have a target." His venomous gaze shifted to the squirming mother falcon. "And there's nothing better than a live target."

Jiro thought about fleeing with the chick and took a step back. This gesture instantly brought Kenta's fury upon him as he grabbed Jiro's collar and pulled him face to face.

"Don't you even think about leaving!" He snarled at his fat friend. "Ryu and I went to a lot of trouble to find that chick and capture its mother. We're doing this all for you, you know! Show some damned gratitude and do what I tell you!"

Jiro momentarily locked eyes with Kenta, but quickly averted his gaze in the face of such anger. Jiro didn't want to cause any problems, so rather than stand up for himself, he simply nodded his ascent. Kenta loosened his grip and ordered him to set the nest down on the ground.

Kenta and Ryu's snickering filled the warehouse with a soft echo that reverberated towards the young boy. The sound of their laughter sent a chill down his spine as he watched the long-haired Ryu release the mother falcon. She flapped her wings violently to grab enough air, flailing its talons at Ryu's face. The long-haired boy swatted the bird away with a wave of his arm that hurled her high enough to fly. Seeing her chick still in the nest on the ground, the mother let out a shrill shriek and dove into a stoop.

Kenta and Ryu sneered at the falcon as it swooped by again and again. Ryu pulled out a handful of shuriken and razor-sharp kunai and handed some to Kenta, who in turn offered some of his shuriken to Jiro. Ryu took careful aim and hurled the deadly shuriken after the falcon as she dived again, but she was just too fast for Ryu.

"See! What did I tell you?! There's nothing better than a live target to practice on." Jiro hesitated to take the shuriken from his friend. When Kenta shoved his hand closer to his face, Jiro closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side.

Kenta narrowed his eyes before suddenly sending Jiro flying through the air with a backhanded punch to the chin. "You ungrateful little crybaby." He hissed at Jiro's sprawled form. "You don't have what it takes to be a ninja. I don't know why I waste my time with you at all."

Jiro groaned under the pain, tears streamed down his face as he tried to lift himself up onto his arms only to collapse onto the ground. "Ryu, take this fat crybaby out of here. I wouldn't want him to spoil the fun." Ryu smirked as grabbed Jiro by the back of his collar and dragged him away.

No longer able to just stand by and watch, the boy stepped out from behind the dangling metal shard and stealthily made his way along the wall after Ryu.

- - - - - - - - - -

Ryu struggled to heave Jiro's fat body across the floor towards the hole in the wall. "Damn it! Why do you have to be such a fatass!?" Grunting under the strain, Ryu could only heave Jiro a few inches at a time. Meanwhile, Kenta was hogging all the fun to himself throwing shuriken and kunai at the falcon as she dove again and again.

Finally he managed to drag Jiro through the hole and into the cool evening air outside. Letting go of Jiro's limp form, Ryu took a moment to catch his breath and wipe away the sweat from his forehead. When he lowered his arm, he was surprised to see the face of an unkempt, dirt-smeared, rag-clothed young boy staring coldly at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" The boy demanded.

Ryu's sadistic grin stretched across his face. "Well, well. It looks like I get to have some fun after all."

He spun around on his left heel with a roundhouse kick to the face, but the boy ducked in the nick of time to avoid it. Ryu shifted his momentum, planting his leg into the ground to deliver a leg sweep, but again the boy avoided the attack. Ryu followed with a series of quick punches and karate chops, but he dodged these with ease.

The boy's speed and reflexes were incredible. Ryu wondered to himself where this kid had learned to move so fast. The two narrowed their eyes and locked gazes. Neither one showed the least hint of backing down, but Ryu sensed a cold fire in this boy's eyes that he found insolent. Intensifying his attack, Ryu used the Clone jutsu to create two copies of himself.

The boy took a long stride back, surprised to see three Ryu's standing there. A bead of sweat ran down his face as he took stock of the situation.

A low groan rumbled through Jiro as he regained consciousness. His jaw was throbbing, and the ringing in his head wouldn't stop either. Moving slowly and carefully, he hoisted himself up onto his elbows. When his eyes regained focus, he saw three Ryu's side-by-side facing a strange boy clad only in worn-out rags.

"Not bad kid." Said Ryu and his clones. "But let's see if you can dodge this!" The clones charged forward with a flurry of punches and kicks that kept the boy on his toes as he dodged blow after blow. Jiro was amazed, he had never seen anyone with such speed and dexterity before. This kid was so fast that Jiro was having trouble keeping up with the fight.

"This has been fun, but now it ends here!" Ryu's clones each lunged forward, one with a mid-air kick aimed for the left side of the boy's face, the other with a sweeping low kick aimed for his torso. With exact timing and precision, the boy flipped on to his hands at the last moment, weaving his body between the clones attacks. The clone's kicks connected with each other, causing them to phase out of existence.

The boy flipped back onto his feet, but Ryu had disappeared. Suddenly, the boy felt the air move behind him. Ryu had used the clone's attack as a distraction while he moved behind the boy.

"Too slow kid!" Ryu reached back and lashed forward with a powerful chop to the neck. When his hand connected though, the image of the boy disappeared.

"What the?!" The words barely escaped his lips before he felt the brutal impact of a fist being buried into his right side. Ryu's eyes bulged and his mouth opened wide with the searing pain. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't scream out in agony, nor could he move. The boy had hit him right in the nerve cluster located near his kidney, a precise blow intended to incapacitate an opponent. How could this kid know exactly where to hit…

Ryu didn't get the chance to complete the question in his mind. The boy spun around on his heel and slammed the back of his hand into Ryu's face. The blow sent the long-haired sadist flying through the air. He landed head first into the hard ground, smashing his head into a rusted steel girder laying on the ground.

Ryu was out cold.

- - - - - - - - - -

Jiro was wide-eyed at what he just witnessed, Ryu slumped on the ground in a heap. Fear gripped Jiro as he looked up slowly to see the boy standing over him. The two locked eyes, though the boy stared coldly back, Jiro could see the pity underneath. The boy grunted, then turned back towards the unconscious form of Ryu and grabbed the long-haired kid by the back of his collar.

Meanwhile inside the warehouse, Kenta continued to play with the falcon, taunting it with the helpless chick still in its nest on the ground. The falcon would dive, climb, circle, and dive again for her chick. He could just kill her and be done with it, but Kenta relished the feeling of power it gave him to keep her alive. It was getting dark though, and he had to get back before his parents realized he was gone.

Kenta reached back to take aim as the falcon prepared to dive again. He smiled, revealing rows of sharp teeth, a low laugh rumbled from him when suddenly something slammed against him. He managed to get his left arm up in time to absorb the fall, but something heavy landed atop him. Shrugging off the pain, Kenta shifted for a better foothold and pushed off what had landed on him. He was not expecting to find that it was Ryu, unconscious and beaten badly.

"What the hell?" said Kenta as he stood on his feet. Looking towards the hole in the wall, he saw the thin figure of a young boy clad in worn rags and robes standing there.

"Let them go."

Kenta jumped onto his feet, eyeing the ragged-looking boy to get his full measure. He was short, dirty, looked weak and tired, but there was something in his eyes that spoke volumes. Brushing the sand and dirt off him, Kenta stood as tall and proud as he could, flexing the muscles of his chest and arms. The boy did not flinch at this display, his eyes remained steady and focused.

"And who's going to make me?!" Barked back Kenta.

The boy's brow furrowed.

"YOU?!" Kenta erupted in laughter. "You honestly think you stand a chance against me?"

The boy answered with a slight smile.

Unable to hold back his anger any longer, Kenta hurled himself after the insolent brat, flailing his arms wildly with punch after punch. Each time he swung his mighty fist, the brat dodged each blow with little effort, often coming within inches of Kenta's bulging knuckles. Blood rushed into Kenta's eyes as his anger and frustration continued to boil, not one of his blows had managed to land on this accursed vermin. What was worse, he seemed to be enjoying it.

The smile on the boy's face evaporated as he went on the offensive. Ducking under a hard roundhouse right, the boy reeled his arm back and struck Kenta in the abdomen with all his might. Although slower than Ryu, the boy realized to his horror that Kenta was far stronger. His hardened muscles absorbed the blow and shrugged it off with little effort.

The boy looked up to see an evil grin loaded with rows of sharp-looking teeth bearing down on him. Before he could react, he felt the hammer blow of Kenta's fists smashing down onto his shoulders, then the wind got knocked out of him by a fist to the gut. The boy gasped for air, but the pain was too excruciating, the stinging in his eyes and the burning from the pit of his stomach threatened to engulf his entire body.

Chuckling to himself, Kenta reached into his holster and pulled out a kunai. The metal handle felt cold in his grasp, much like the killer's instinct that enveloped his black heart. He raised the kunai high above his head, "Like I said, you have no chance against me!"

- - - - - - - - - -

Before he could drive the cold blade of the kunai into the boy's back the mother falcon plunged into a high-speed stoop. Driving her long talons into Kenta's arm, the needle-sharp claws bit deep into flesh, blood oozed out from the wounds, sending flares of agonizing pain down his arm and into his body.

Kenta let out a furious scream, flailing his arm back and forth wildly, desperate to toss the raptor off his wounded arm. When the mother falcon at last let go of his arm she let out a feral scream and bore her talons into his face.

Screaming madly Kenta grabbed the raptor and ripped her off his face. The talons lifted out of his skin only to gash his face and leave behind a pair of scars across his large nose and forehead as she was hurled into the air. The boy looked up only to witness Kenta throw the kunai straight into the bosom of the falcon as she managed to recover. Her lifeless body fell to ground, landing with a dull thud that kicked up a small cloud of dust that settled all around her.

Time slowed for the boy, his eyes locked on the image of the dead falcon. Tears streamed down his dirt smeared face. He wanted to scream, but the words just wouldn't come out. His heart felt like it was going to collapse at any moment.

"It's like I said, there's nothing better than a live target." Kenta laughed hysterically as he wiped the blood of his face. Licking the blood of his fingers, Kenta's venomous gaze shifted to the boy. "And you're next!"

Kenta stomped slowly, each step bringing him closer and closer to his next victim. The boy's head slumped onto the ground, his body trembled with anger and hatred. Grasping a pile of stones into his left hand, the boy pushed himself up to face his opponent.

"You'll pay for that!" The boy resolutely declared.

Kenta charged forward, but the boy feinted to his left, covering Kenta's head with his discarded robe. Unable to see, Kenta's charge faltered as he struggled to unwrap the ragged robe off of himself. The boy took the stones he grabbed and wrapped them using a piece of cloth torn off his robe to create a makeshift flail. Swinging with all his might, the boy slammed it into Kenta's skull. The impact drove him downwards into the ground. Mercilessly, the boy pummeled Kenta again and again with the flail, slamming him back down to the ground with each blow.

Grabbing a handful of sand, Kenta tossed it in the general direction of the clobbering attacks. The boy reacted in time to shield his face, but it bought Kenta the time he needed to rip the shroud off his head. Kenta swung with a roundhouse right that barely missed as the boy ducked, followed that with a lower uppercut that missed too, and finally a spinning backhanded swing.

The back of his hand connected with something hard and metallic, pain shot through Kenta's knuckles and down his arm as he realized the boy had used a bent metal rod to block his swing. Suddenly the rod slammed hard into his right shoulder, then swung around in a wide arc to hit him in the back, followed by a elbow driving into the right side of his face. Kenta reacted with a right kick aimed for the boy's midsection that missed, he twisted his body in an attempt to avoid the incoming counterblow, but he was too slow.

Leaping over Kenta's outstretched leg, the boy tucked his body in tight and lashed out with both legs just as the big-nosed ninja twisted his body into a handstand. The drop kick caught him square in the torso and launched him backwards into a nearby rusted conveyer belt. Kenta looked up to see the boy land on his hands, flip through the air and land perfectly on his feet with his back facing him. A howling gust of wind whipped through the building at that moment. Kenta had to shield his eyes from the harsh wind, but the boy did not feel the wind. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder to stare coldly at his adversary.

- - - - - - - - - -

Jiro peered around the torn edges of the hole in the wall and saw the wind whip through the building, kicking up sand and dust everywhere. He ducked back behind the wall to shield his face for a moment, but when he saw the boy standing there and not being affected, he felt a sense of awe and inspiration at such a magnificent sight.

Kenta did not feel the same way. His face was cut up and mangled from that damned bird, the ringing in his ears wouldn't stop, his head throbbed and his body ached. When he looked up to see this brat just stand there with his back to him, his rage overtook him and filled his heart with murderous intent. He tried to stand back up on his feet, but his body faltered under the weight, forcing him to balance himself on the conveyor belt with one hand.

"DON'T TURN YOUR BACK TO ME! I'M NOT FINISHED YET!" Spat Kenta.

The boy turned back. "Yes, you are." The boy sprinted forward at top speed, kicking up small clouds of dust and sand with every pace.

A small grin stretched across Kenta's bloody face as he reached behind with his free arm to a small pocket hidden on the back of his belt. Jiro spotted the movement and recognized the danger the young boy was in. Without thinking, he bounded around the corner to stop him, but he wasn't fast enough.

"KENTA NO!" Jiro screamed.

Reaching into the pocket, Kenta withdrew his last kunai and threw it. The deadly projectile zipped through the air towards the boy's face. Kenta smiled, Jiro covered his eyes, but the boy did not flinch. Instead, to everyone's shock, he caught the kunai with his forefinger and middle finger within an inch of his face.

Using the momentum from the thrown weapon, the boy twisted to the right, grabbing a handful of sand in his free hand and threw it into Kenta's eyes. Caught completely off guard, Kenta buried his face in his hands as the sand burned and scratched his eyes. The boy wasted no time by landing a low blow that brought Kenta to his knees squealing in a high-toned voice. The boy's left foot connected with Kenta's face, sending him flipping head over heels into the ground, knocking him out cold.

The boy walked steadily towards the limp forms of Kenta and Ryu, the kunai still in his hand. Narrowing his eyes, the boy visibly tightened his grip on the weapon and raised it above his head. Ready to strike the deathblow, the boy was taken aback when the plump Jiro suddenly threw himself atop his friends.

"Please don't hurt them!" He pleaded. Tears streamed down Jiro's face as he looked up at the kunai hovering above him. "Please don't hurt my friends. I know what they did was wrong and that they shouldn't have done it, but they're still my friends. Please let them go."

The sight of the timid Jiro putting himself in harms way to protect his friends softened the boy's heart and eased back his rage. It was too bad for Jiro that he should be loyal to such so-called friends, ones who did nothing but exploit him and his naiveity, forcing him to do things that were wrong. His grip on the kunai wavered as he slowly let his hand down.

"Get them out of here." He growled at Jiro. "And don't ever come back." Jiro nodded to the boy and dragged his unconscious companions away. He looked up for a moment and saw the boy still standing resolutely over the body of the fallen falcon, a look of fire and brimstone in his eyes that spoke more than a thousand words. Jiro smiled to himself, wishing he had even half of his guts.

- - - - - - - - - -

With the trio gone, the boy turned back towards the falcon's corpse and was surprised to see the chick standing by his mother's side. The chick called again and again for his mother, waiting for the moment she would roll back onto her feet and gather him under her protective wings. But the boy knew that moment would never come again, she was gone.

"You're just like me aren't you?" he said as crouched closer to the chick. "You're alone too. No family, no friends, nowhere to go."

The chick looked up at him and locked eyes for a long moment. As strange as it seemed, the boy felt some sort of connection with this orphaned bird. He smiled at the chick as he reached down and scooped it up with both hands, cradling the youngling close to his chest.

"Don't worry little one. I'll guard you with my life, I owe your mother that much." The chick cocked its head at him.

"Now what should I call you?" The boy watched the baby falcon closely as he contemplated a name.

Looking down on the ground he spotted the remains of some packaging material for the ninja tools that used to be manufactured in this warehouse, the word "Tracker" stood out prominently.

"So that's what I'll call you." Lifting the chick closer to his face the boy declared softly, "From now on, your name will be: Tracker!" The little falcon squealed at the name with pure delight.

From that moment on the two were inseparable. In the years to come, wherever the boy went, Tracker was always close behind. Although life wasn't easy for them, the two continued to grow closer and closer as the two learned to watch out and care for one another.

In time, the boy learned to harness his remarkable speed and agility to become a successful thief while his feathery companion became his eye in the sky. He later became known as Hayabusa for his speed and teamwork with Tracker. It was during this time that he finally chose a name for himself, Hajime Hayabusa.


	2. Chapter 2: A Thief No More

_"A Thief No More"_

- - - - - - - - - -

"Where did he go?" One sand ninja said aloud to his two team members as they leapt from rooftop to rooftop in the slums of Sunagakure's former industrial/economic district.

The three-man team had been in hot pursuit of the infamous thief Hajime Hayabusa when he had suddenly disappeared into thin air. Calling in reinforcements, the team had been looking hard over the past few hours for any trace of the young thief.

The team's leader clicked his radio on to hear the latest reports from the other teams. So far the trail had gone cold with no sign of either the young thief nor his pet falcon Tracker. The leader grunted his frustration and ordered his men to continue their search. It was vital that they find him and find him fast.

A few hours earlier, a series of explosions had ripped through the Kazekage's mansion. Tear gas and airborne sedatives had been released into the building's ventilation shafts that knocked out everyone inside the building. Thankfully, the Kazekage had been away from the mansion when the theft took place, but when rescue workers and reinforcements had arrived on the scene, they discovered to their horror that one of the sealed scrolls had been stolen from the mansion's vault. This particular scroll contained the formulas and instructions for all the village's most powerful and forbidden jutsus.

The Kazekage, Lord Gaara of the Sand, ordered that the scroll be retrieved and the thief captured and brought to him immediately. The search teams had some difficulty picking up his trail at first, but soon caught onto him and gave pursuit. Just when it seemed they had him in their grasp, the young boy simply vanished without a trace.

To add to the ninja's anxiety was the Kazekage's third eye that floated nearby, following each team's movements and monitoring their progress. Although Lord Gaara no longer possessed the Shukaku inside his body, he could still inspire fear in his troops when he needed to.

The leader signaled with his hands for his team to change direction and continue their search.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hidden deep in the veil of the building's shadow, Hajime Hayabusa watched as another team of ninja passed overhead. Waiting a few heartbeats to make certain the coast the was clear, Hajime emerged from the shadows and silently dashed down the winding alleyways towards the safety of the warehouses in the abandoned industrial district.

Minutes later he crossed into the slums and then the industrial zone. Ducking through a hole in the side of one of the larger warehouses, Hajime hid within the shadows along the far wall. The adrenaline rush abated, and exhaustion finally caught up as he slid his back along the wall until down onto the ground. After catching his breath, he unzipped the bag slung over his shoulder and removed the contents, a large sealed scroll with the warning, "CLASSIFIED: FORBIDDEN" written in large red kanji.

Overflowing with glee and satisfaction, Hajime couldn't help but chuckle delightfully at his success. He had just pulled off his greatest swipe yet and gotten away clean from Sunagakure's finest. No one could catch him, and no one could stop him, he was on top of the world now.

Using the wall behind him for leverage, Hajime lifted himself onto his feet to head out of building when he noticed that one of the scroll's corners had come loose. The loose corner of parchment had writing on it detailing some sort kind of ninja technique. He reached out to return the corner back into place, but stopped when his fingers grasped it. A thought crossed him, what was so important about this scroll anyway? What was inside that was so dangerous that it would be classified as FORBIDDEN?

Most times Hajime would have shrugged off such curious thoughts and refocused on the job at hand, but this time, against his own better judgment, he decided to open the scroll and find out.

- - - - - - - - - -

Unbeknownst to the speedy little thief, the third eye of the Kazekage, Lord Gaara of the Sand, floated in the shadows high in the building's interior, watching the young boy's every move. Gaara was on his way back from a leisurely meal with his elder brother Kankuro when the mansion came under attack. From the city street he witnessed the explosions that shattered the windows and bilged out clouds of tear gas as he walked back.

Along the way he saw a lone figure zipping overhead away from the scene. Upon arriving, he discovered that the scroll containing the formulas and instructions to Suna's most powerful ninja arts had been stolen. To aid the teams in their search, Gaara used his ability to generate a third eye from the sand to track down and locate that solitary figure he saw leaping across the rooftops earlier. The boy was certainly fast and well-versed with the layout of the village, but ultimately he failed to notice Gaara's third eye following his every move.

Looking through the third eye, Gaara saw that the boy had opened the scroll and spread it out on the ground before him. A closer look revealed that the boy was struggling to decipher the coded writing. Thank heaven for that, if the boy realized that he was reading the formula for some of the most forbidden jutsu devised by the ninja of Sunagakure, he would have been in a position to put the village in considerable danger.

Gaara closed in slowly and carefully to the boy's position, mindful to watch for trip wires and booby traps that might have been planted. While keeping his eyes to the ground, he also kept his eyes looking upwards into the sky. Everywhere this kid went he was followed by a peregrine falcon that was his eye in the sky.

The repertoire between this child and the falcon reminded him of the relationship that a ninja from Konohagakure named Kiba Inuzuka had with his nin-dog Akamaru. The two had a almost symbiotic relationship, they could communicate and understand one another to such a degree that it seemed they shared one mind and heart. Gaara suspected that this kid shared a similar relationship with his falcon Tracker.

The Kazekage reached the warehouse at last, a decaying, rusted shell of a former manufacturing facility used to make the many tools and weapons used by Sunagakure's finest until the Feudal Lord of the Land of Wind decided to force cut backs on the military budget several years ago. Without proper funding, many such factories and warehouses were closed and abandoned.

Worse, that same Feudal Lord had begun shifting responsibility of the country's military affairs to Konohagakure instead. These changes in policy nearly brought the Village Hidden in the Sand to the brink of economic and military collapse, which had in turn led to Sunagakure's alliance with Otogakure to attack the Village Hidden in the Leaves many years ago. It was during this attack that Gaara met the ninja who changed his life, Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto fought and defeated Gaara in an all-out duel to save his dear friend Sakura Haruno and would later be the instrument for resurrecting him after the accursed Akatsuki had forcibly removed the Shukaku from his body.

Life had changed considerably for the young Kazekage after that day. Now free from the Shukaku's attempts to eat away his personality, Gaara blossomed into the fine man and respected leader he was today. His personal friendship with Naruto Uzumaki cemented ties between the two villages and helped bring an end to the hostility that had formerly wedged the two apart.

With the increase in activity from Akatsuki and mounting threats from the other hidden ninja villages, Gaara was determined now more than ever to protect his village and the people in it, which meant that he couldn't take the chance that that scroll might fall into the wrong hands. Pressing forward, he reached the wall without incident. Scaling the wall with his levitating sand, Gaara silently made his way across the roof until he reached the edge of a large gash from which he could see into the building's massive interior.

Using the third eye, Gaara determined he was now above the thief. The kid was still busy with the scroll, so he hadn't noticed the Kazekage's approach, not that he would have considering that the best ninja in the Land of Wind was tracking him now. Reaching into the earth below him with his chakra, Gaara collected sand beneath Hajime to capture him in his Desert Prison jutsu when the air was split by the distinctive high-pitched call of a peregrine falcon.

The surprise made Gaara feel like his heart had jumped into his throat. He jerked his head around and saw nothing, until he looked up to see Hajime's falcon Tracker perched atop a tall smokestack jutting from the corner of the building. The falcon's black eyes glared at the intruder as he let out another loud warning call. Through the third eye, Gaara saw the boy snap to attention, quickly rolling up the scroll while cursing himself for his carelessness.

With no time left, Gaara waved his hand in the air and released the Desert Prison jutsu.

- - - - - - - - - -

The shrill call from Tracker split the night air like the a banshee's scream, a warning that told Hajime he had to get out of there and fast. Hastily rolling the aged parchment scroll and slinging it over his shoulder, Hajime was about to sprint when his footing gave way. The ground which had been solid just a moment ago had suddenly given way to loose sand.

His sense of balance was thrown into anarchy as the ground rolled with a great heaving motion that made the pit of his stomach rise and fall with every pitch. He had just enough time to look down and see large clouds of dusty sand rise from the ground and seize him by the legs. The sand slithered across his body like a snake, wrapping its way up his legs to his torso and around his shoulders.

The weight of the sand pressed down on him, making it difficult to breathe, much less struggle free, but the infamous "Falcon Boy", the bird thief of Suna was not about to let himself get caught now. Summoning all the strength he could, the boy brought his hands together, grasping the fore and middle fingers of his left hand together with right while stretching his other fore and middle finger out.

The sand washed over the boy's torso, covering him in a layer of pressurized sand that no one could escape from. Gaara slowly closed his open hand into a fist to finish sealing the thief in the Desert Prison when a large puff of smoke burst from the sand. When the smoke cleared, it wasn't Hajime that Gaara held within the Desert Prison's grasp, but instead a large broken barrel.

"The Replacement jutsu? How?" Gaara thought to himself as he searched frantically for the boy. The evening darkness made it difficult to locate the boy by sight, and the wind blew in the direction away from the Kazekage, which meant he would not be able to track him by scent or sound either.

Gaara disappeared in a cloud of sand, instantly reappearing on the floor below using the Sand Body Flicker jutsu. Though surprised by the boy's jutsu, Gaara maintained his cool and calm exterior as he sent his third eye into the darkness ahead to search for the boy. Afterall, he couldn't have gotten very far.

While his third eye hovered in the air, Gaara kept his eyes and ears to the ground searching for any indication of Hayabusa's whereabouts. As he passed by a hole in the outside wall, the Kazekage erected a wall of hardened sand to seal the hole and trap the boy in with him. Repeating this for every doorway, window, gash and hole, the building slowly became like a large sealed cookie jar, with no way to get out.

Realizing that searching by sight, sound and smell would do him little good, Gaara closed his dark-ringed eyes and faded into a trance-like state. If he couldn't see him or hear him, he would certainly find him by searching for the boy by his chakra. Expanding his awareness to encompass the area all around him, Gaara systematically scoured the building with his mind. It was harder than he expected; at first he was unable to pick up even the faintest trace of charka, but by expanding his consciousness he was soon able to discern the faint spark of the boy's chakra.

To Gaara's amazement, he discovered that this boy was able to repress the presence of his chakra to an incredible degree, enough to rival most Jounin. Thinking back to Hajime's escape from the Desert Prison, Gaara recalled the boy's precise timing and execution of the Body Replacement, even when he struggling against the imprisoning sand. Of course it was such a basic jutsu, one which all ninja academy graduates learned and mastered by a very early age. Still, the fact he had pulled it off and that he could control his chakra to such a degree without having had any training at all was to his credit.

"Did this boy learn it all by himself?" Wondered the Kazekage.

- - - - - - - - - -

Crouched in the veil of shadow covering an overhead catwalk, Hajime gasped in shallow breaths of air as he watched the Kazekage seal off the exits with his accursed sand. There was no way to escape without having to go through him now, a most dangerous position to be in. Hajime had no delusions, he knew he would be no match for Sunagakure's elite ninjas in direct combat, much less against the most powerful ninja in all of the Land of Wind. He had always survived by outrunning and outsmarting the ninja with the help of Tracker and his own knowledge of the slums.

Once again his only hope lay with using his speed and cunning to slip past the Kazekage and escape through the hole in the ceiling he had descended from earlier. Easier said than done. If he hadn't opened the scroll and learned that Body Replacement technique, he might very well have been in Lord Gaara's clutches right now. Now he had to perform another miracle.

Mulling over the possibilities in his head, Hajime barely noticed the third eye hovering overhead in the shadows. The sound of shifting sand rumbled throughout the building, growing louder and louder. So loud that he did not hear the sound of the column of sand as it burst from the ground and struck the catwalk. The metal twisted, groaning loudly from the force of the impact. Hajime braced himself on a suspension rod as the walkway rose with the rising sand. Looking down on the metal panel below he saw a crack split wide open as a geyser of sand pushed through the steel and erupted in his face.

The force of the sand knocked Hajime backwards into the railing, slamming his back hard into the cold metal. Channeling his chakra into his arms, he pushed himself to the right in time to avoid being grabbed by a hand shaped out of the sand. He leapt off the catwalk onto an adjacent conveyor belt as it collapsed. The sand gushed up from the ground and missed him by a thread as he leapt onto another conveyor belt, then slid down the belt, flipping in mid-air to avoid being grabbed by two more hands in the sand and landing into a forward somersault.

Hajime looked up to see the calm look on the Kazekage's face as he lifted his arm up, summoning a wall of sand that blocked the young thief's escape. Bounding backwards to avoid slamming into the wall, Hajime sidestepped the wall and sprinted again only to blocked by yet another wall of sand. Again Hajime sidestepped this wall only to encounter another waiting to intercept him.

The waltz of sand walls, Hajime's sidestepping, and mad sprints repeated again and again until the Kazekage drove Hajime into the back wall. The sand attacks abated for a moment, long enough for Hajime to catch his breath and wipe away the sweat from his forehead. In the back of his mind Hajime knew he wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. If he didn't find a way past the Kazekage soon, he would use up what little chakra he had left.

He decided it was time to end this. With no other alternatives left, he would have no choice but to go after the Kazekage himself. Bracing himself against the wall, he took several long breaths, psyched himself up, and tucked his body in ready to sprint.

"This is it!" Thought Hajime as he burst from the wall, sprinting ahead at top speed.

- - - - - - - - - -

Lifting up both arms outward, Gaara stretched his palms open towards the boy. A rolling wave of sand rippled along the ground before him that grew until its crest reached above his chest. Sensing the impending danger, Hajime stopped himself in mid-stride and shifted his momentum to flip backwards. Gaara slammed his palms together, sending the rippling sand cascading like a tidal wave after him.

Hajime grunted as the wave of sand towered over him. At the last moment before it could envelope him, he disappeared from sight, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of feathers that was quickly consumed by the wave of sand crashing down onto the ground.

Gaara's eyes opened wide as the boy reappeared not more than a few meters in front of him. Looking right into his eyes, Gaara watched as the he formed three hand seals at lightning fast speed to gather his chakra to his hands.

"Swarming Birds jutsu!" A streaming flock of menacing-looking birds emerged from his outstretched hands flying at high speed towards the stunned Kazekage. Gaara threw his arms up to protect himself as the flock swarmed over him, chirping away loudly and blinding him to what was going on around him.

Knowing the genjutsu wouldn't last very long, Hajime used his Feather Body Flicker, disappearing in a cloud of floating feathers and reappearing above Gaara's head, leaping towards the opening in the ceiling overhead.

Landing on the roof with hardly a sound, Hajime was about to break for it when he saw something on the ground in front of him. It was a round, almost egg-shaped pile of sand with something squirming inside. Approaching cautiously, Hajime inspected the strange object closer. He was surprised to see a round head and sharp-looking beak poking the either end; Tracker was encased in that shell of sand.

Hajime wondered what had happened to the falcon, but pushed the thought away when he realized he had to make haste.

"Don't worry Tracker, I've got you." Hajime reached down and scooped the trapped falcon, sand and all, into his arms. The sand binding his feathery companion felt unnaturally heavy under the force of the Kazekage's chakra, but still he would not leave his friend behind.

It was at that moment that Gaara dispelled the boy's genjutsu, lifted his hand into the air, and squeezed it shut. Without any warning, tentacles snapped out of the egg-shell of sand in Hajime's arms and wrapped themselves around his torso before he could blink.

The boy struggled against the pressing sand to no avail as it crawled over his body and encased him in a floating shell of sand. Gaara rose slowly through the air on his levitating sand, coming to a soft landing on the roof standing in front of his prisoner.

At long last, the infamous thief Hajime Hayabusa had finally been caught.

- - - - - - - - - -

There was no escape, nothing he could do would free him from the Kazekage's grasp. Though he knew he was beaten, Hajime refused to show it as he glared at the Kazekage with cold rage and defiance. Lord Gaara looked into his eyes and held them steady as he peered into the young man's eyes, and through them into his heart and soul.

Moments later several of the three man teams of ninja sent to search for the scroll arrived on the scene, each being guided by Gaara's third eye.

"Lord Kazekage!" Piped one of the squad leaders.

"It's over." Gaara nodded towards the floating egg-shell of sand that held Hajime prisoner. The ninja's gaze shifted to their leader with a new feeling of awe while they scowled at the captured thief.

"And the scroll?"

With his free hand Gaara shifted the shell of sand to take the scroll off the boy, then push it to the surface. A nearby ninja fished the scroll from the sand.

"Bring the scroll back to the mansion and ensure it's properly sealed and guarded." The ninja bowed his head acknowledging his orders. He and his team assembled and promptly made their way back.

One of the team leaders standing near the Kazekage's side eyed Hajime with a venomous gaze.

"Shall I take this brat away, Lord Kazekage?" The ninja asked as he took a step forward ready to take him away. Gaara stretched his arm out before he could take another step.

"That won't be necessary." Answered Gaara. "I'll deal with him myself."

The ninja bowed, then left together with his men to return to their duties, leaving Hajime and Tracker alone with the their lord. A small smile stretched across the young Kazekage's face, a gesture that bewildered Hajime, until a sinking feeling of dread flooded over his body. What did he have in mind?

- - - - - - - - - -

Word about the attack at the Kazekage's mansion had spread to every corner of Suna by this time. Crowds of people lined the streets and gathered all around the tall spherical building to catch of glimpse of what was going on. The smoke had cleared from the building and work crews had already removed the broken shards of glass off the dusty streets, but a rumor persisted that a valuable item had been stolen and that Suna's ninja were now searching for the culprit.

A villager at the back of the crowd tried unsuccessfully to wedge her way through to see what was happening. Slumping her shoulders, she turned to look for another way to get closer when she saw the figure of the Kazekage slowly walking towards her.

Surprised to see him, she yanked on the shoulders of another villager to get his attention. The man was a little annoyed at being tugged like that, but when he saw the Kazekage coming down the street he too alerted others nearby. Thus word spread quickly through the crowds of the Kazekage's arrival.

Hajime could see the Kazekage's mansion up ahead, and the crowds that had gathered there. "So, he intends to parade me around like a trophy does he?" The thought disgusted Hajime.

The crowd parted to let their leader pass through towards the mansion, bowing their heads in respect as he passed by. When the villagers looked up they saw an egg-shaped ball of sand that hung suspended in mid-air following closely behind. When the villagers looked more closely, they saw an all-too-familiar face sticking out of the sand, it was the infamous thief Hajime Hayabusa.

Each villager in turn glowered at the imprisoned young boy as he passed by, then cheered their Kazekage for capturing him at long last. Gaara received their cheers with a slight smile as he continued towards the mansion's main gates. Once inside the guards closed the gates behind him.

Gaara beckoned the attendant and whispered something in her ear. She bowed and quickly made her down one of the many corridors that lined the halls. The Kazekage made his way through the halls towards the staircases. The guards at the base of the stairs bowed as he ascended upwards, his prized catch floating closely behind, still imprisoned in the shell of sand. Reaching the top of the stairs Gaara passed through a broad entryway and through a set of double doors into his personal residence.

Once the doors were slammed shut and locked behind them, Gaara lowered the encased Hajime onto the floor. Hajime was expecting the worst when he suddenly felt the sand slacken its grip and slowly slip off the young boy's body. Before it could hit the floor, Gaara summoned every grain of sand back into the gourd on his back and sealed it shut.

- - - - - - - - - -

The sand gently settled Hajime down onto his feet as it receded, lifting the crushing pressure off his body. Not a speck of dust could be found as he automatically examined his clothing.

"You can relax." said Gaara with a soothing tone. "If I had wanted to, I could have had my men drag you off themselves."

The same attendant he saw earlier came around the corner and whispered into Gaara's ear. The Kazekage nodded towards the servant and smiled his approval.

"Come with me." Gaara ordered. Hajime cringed at the thought of taking orders from him, but knew he had no choice. After stretching his arm out for Tracker to climb onto, he and the bird followed closely behind.

The attendant girl opened a pair of double doors for them and lead them into a large room with a long table and rows of elegant wooden chairs. Spread along the table were several steaming dishes with every sort of food imaginable.

Gaara took the seat at the head of the table and motioned Hajime to take the seat to his right. "Please sit down and enjoy yourself."

"What's this?!" Asked Hajime suspiciously.

"It's called dinner." Gaara rebutted. "Considering that bothersome chase you put me and my men through, I thought you might be in need of something to eat."

Hajime was about to decline when his stomach growled fiercely. Cradling his abdomen with both arms, he felt his body being overwhelmed with hunger. Exhausted from his failed escape through Suna's alleyways and slums, Hajime lost the will to struggle any longer. Tracker perched himself on the adjoining seat, eyeing the food with the same ravenous hunger his friend and master displayed.

Gaara was certainly correct about them being hungry, but nothing prepared him for the boy throwing away all decorum and table manners out the window and greedily stuffing his face as fast as he could with his bare hands. At some point after his third plate Hajime noticed the look of repulsion on Gaara's face. His face flushed red with embarrassment for a moment, to which he slowed himself down and reached for the chopsticks next to his plate. Recovering his composure, Gaara glanced at the perched falcon to see it scanning the cuisine on the table with an air of longing.

"What does your falcon care to eat?" Gaara asked.

Hajime looked at Tracker for a moment before he answered the question. Gaara beckoned the attendant and whispered instructions to find some wild game for the falcon to eat. The attendant returned not long afterward to find the boy stuffing his mouth with reckless abandon. When the falcon saw the pheasant she was carrying he bounded off his seat, across the table and leapt at the tastey bird with its outstretched talons. A few high-pitched squeals later, Tracker was consuming his prey with joyful glee.

The attendant asked if she was needed for anything else, Gaara apologized for the commotion and answered that she was free for the evening. Hajime laughed hysterically when she flinched at the sight of the raptor's eating habits and those of his owner as she stumbled through the door.

Gaara sighed to himself, but shrugged it off with little annoyance.

He finished his seventh plate and let out a powerful belch that echoed down the hallways. Gaara couldn't help but chuckle.

"Enjoying your meal?"

"This is the best!" the boy shouted with his mouth full, "I've never had anything this good before!"

Hajime swallowed hard, "But…"

Gaara's head perked up awaiting the boy's question.

"Why are doing this? Why not just send me to prison and be done with it?"

"I could certainly send you to prison, but I have a better idea."

"Oh?! And what would that be?" Hajime reached for his glass, gulping the contents loudly.

"I'm going to send you to the academy…" Gaara leaned forward and lowered his voice, "…to become a ninja."

"ME?" Hajime practically spat the word along with a mouthful of his drink. Gaara jumped in his seat at the boy's comical reaction, then steadied his gaze as he looked into the boy's wide eyes. "Become a ninja?"

A moment later the initial surprise on Hajime's face melted away. "Oh I get it, this is some kind of joke right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking to you?" Gaara rebutted.

It was no joke Hajime realized, Lord Gaara of the Sand was perfectly serious. A ninja? ME? It was every child's dream to become a ninja for the Hidden Sand Village, but sadly it was one that too often went unrealized. For someone like him, born an orphan and a beggar, an outcast of society forced into stealing just to get enough bread to survive, it was a hopeless dream. But now, here he was, inside the Kazekage's very mansion, having dinner with him and being offered the chance.

"Why me? I'm an orphan and a thief."

"Very true," agreed Gaara, "but from what I saw during your attempted escape and our little squabble, you displayed great skill and cunning. You anticipated every move we made, navigated your way through the village without leaving a trace, and you displayed speed and agility like I've never seen before. You have tremendous potential, especially considering that you accomplished all of this with no prior training. It's a waste to see you squandering those talents on criminal activities."

It was all too much, never before had Hajime been praised for anything in his life, but now the Kazekage himself was commending him.

"Besides, if there's anything I can't bear to watch, it's seeing others going through the pain of desperation and loneliness. It's the worst form of hell, something that no one should ever have to experience. I know, I lived through it."

This last comment welled up tears in his eyes. All his life Hajime felt like an outcast. Unwanted and unloved, he grappled with feelings of worthlessness and the pain of being alone. Though he had Tracker, it wasn't the same. More than anything else, Hajime wanted to feel like he belonged. As long as he could have it, it didn't matter what he belonged to, even if it meant stooping down so low as to become an outlaw. But now Hajime was being offered the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to finally belong, to feel a part of something larger and to make something of his squalid life.

Hajime stood slowly from his chair, wiping away the tears off his hollow cheeks. Standing straight and tall, with his chest puffed out full of pride, he looked the Kazekage of the Village Hidden in Sand square in the eye and smiled.

"Then from this moment on, I am a thief no more!"


End file.
